Miniaturized Mass Spectrometer

Publications:

Technology Marketing SummarySandia's invention relates to a miniaturized mass spectrometer using a silicon chip field emitter array as the source of electrons for impact ionization of chemical species. DescriptionSandia has developed an improved quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The improvement lies in the substitution of the conventional hot flament electron source with a cold cathode field emitter array (FEA), which in turn, allows the operations of a small QMS at much higher internal pressures then are currently achievable. By eliminating the hot flament, problems such as the thermal "cracking of delicate analytes molecules, outgassing of a "hot" flament, high-power requirements, flament contamination by outgas species, and spurious electromagnetic fields are avoided altogether. Benefits

Miniature quadrupole mass spectrometer having a cold cathode ionization sourceAn improved quadrupole mass spectrometer is described. The improvement lies in the substitution of the conventional hot filament electron source with a cold cathode field emitter array which in turn allows operating a small QMS at much high internal pressures then are currently achievable. By eliminating of the hot filament such problems as thermally "cracking" delicate analyte molecules, outgassing a "hot" filament, high power requirements, filament contamination by outgas species, and spurious em fields are avoid all together. In addition, the ability of produce FEAs using well-known and well developed photolithographic techniques, permits building a QMS having multiple redundancies of the ionization source at very low additional cost.

Method for analyzing the mass of a sample using a cold cathode ionization source mass filterAn improved quadrupole mass spectrometer is described. The improvement lies in the substitution of the conventional hot filament electron source with a cold cathode field emitter array which in turn allows operating a small QMS at much high internal pressures then are currently achievable. By eliminating of the hot filament such problems as thermally "cracking" delicate analyte molecules, outgassing a "hot" filament, high power requirements, filament contamination by outgas species, and spurious em fields are avoid all together. In addition, the ability of produce FEAs using well-known and well developed photolithographic techniques, permits building a QMS having multiple redundancies of the ionization source at very low additional cost.